Amid reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was seen at the White House Thursday, a chorus of Donald Trump confidants are now calling on the pr*sident to oust Rosenstein, the Trump appointee who is overseeing the Russia probe. ABC News writes:
"I would fire Rosenstein in a New York minute; without any question," Joe diGenova told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl and Rick Klein on this week’s “Powerhouse Politics” podcast.
DiGenova, who says he has spoken to the president in the past 24 hours, is one of a number of trusted voices in the president's orbit urging him to remove Rosenstein in wake of his decision to authorize a raid on the president's personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
The president is taking the advice seriously and is openly considering the move, sources told ABC News.
Longtime Trump supporter Roger Stone, who's caught up in the probe, also advised Trump to ax Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an interview with ABC News Wednesday. And former Trump aide Steve Bannon, who's been interviewed by Mueller, laid out an entire strategy for crippling the investigation in a Washington Post interview. The first step: firing Rosenstein.
According to CNN, the White House is also prepping talking points designed to mar the credibility of Rosenstein.
At the same time, House Republicans are latching on to any reasoning at all to oust Rosenstein and FBI director Christopher Wray. House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes threatened on Wednesday to "impeach" them both if they did not immediately produce a document showing the impetus behind launching the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.
Although Rosenstein and Wray allowed Nunes to view that document later in the day, other GOP members of oversight panels also threatened to hold Wray-Rod in contempt over documents relating to the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email.
"I would certainly support that," Rep. Peter King, an ally of Trump's who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN earlier Wednesday when asked about holding Wray and Rosenstein in contempt. "We need these documents and they won't give them to us. They've been stonewalling us for a year on one document after another."
If Trump needs excuses and support to move forward on a Rosenstein dismissal, he’s surrounded by them.
Washington insiders do seem to be on alert for such an occurrence. Thursday afternoon, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer circulated talking points in the event of Rosenstein's ouster, while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted that such a move would "ignite a constitutional crisis." And less likely suspects, including Lawfareblog.com editor Benjamin Wittes, circulated his reasoning for vowing to join nationwide protests if Rosenstein were to go.